Research Paper on:
A Critique of Lorraine Hansberry's, A Raisin in the Sun

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
to look back on their past with pride and to the future with a sense of hopefulness that the American Dream was not a white construct, but was something they  could wish for themselves and their families. Hansberrys dramatic masterpiece, which was first produced back in 1959, is regarded by many critics as the African-American equivalent to Arthur Millers  Death of a Salesman, which is the tragic tale of Willy Lomans quest for the capitalist dream of economic prosperity. However, A Raisin in the Sun is considerably more  optimistic than Millers dire drama in that after revealing that the American Dream is not a matter of dollars and cents, but is rather about preserving and perpetuating family unity  despite suffering oppression, prejudice, injustice and inner disillusionment. The play concerns the Younger family, who live in a Chicago ghetto apartment. Walter Lee Younger Sr. has recently  died, and his survivors have different plans for the $10,000 insurance policy he left them. Mama Lena wants to purchase a nice house in the upscale white neighborhood of  Clybourne Park where she, her son Walter Lee Jr., daughter Beneatha, daughter-in-law Ruth and grandson Travis can all live and grow together. This is met with adversity, in the  person of Karl Lindner, who "represents white supremacy and all that is entailed in this mentality" (Brown-Guillory et al. 67). Lindner wants to pay the Youngers not to move  into the neighborhood. Mamas dream is not shared by her children, who have their own definite ideas on how the money should be spent. Walter Lee wants to  give up his chauffeur job to purchase a liquor store, while his sister wants to go to medical school and treat her people. The inner conflict is generated by